Entries in Lawrence Journal World (3)
En Fuego! Kansas Watch Sets Fire to the Lawrence Journal World Over Palin
Take Sarah Palin. Add a blog post. Then stand back. Spontaneous combustion occurs.
FOOOMMMM!
Two of my posts on Sen. John McCain's pick of Palin as his Veep has set off a firestorm in the comments of the Lawrence Journal World version of this blog.
So far, 117 comments and counting for Abstinence Education Fails the Palin Household.
So far, 54 comments and county for The Fictional(?) Short Presidency of Sarah Palin.
Dare we say it!?
En Fuego!
Slattery Addresses His Lobbying Past in LJW Chat
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Kansas, had a far ranging online chat via the Lawrence Journal World and its readers today.I was most interested in how he would address is “lobbying past,” particularly after the recent past Pat Roberts ad blasted Slattery for being a—horror of horrors!—a lobbyist.
Here’s Jim’s response to a question on the topic from the chat:
Moderator: As I’m sure you can imagine, several members of our audience would like to know about your “past as a lobbyist.” So I’ll condense those questions into one. 1) What groups did you represent? 2) Did you pay Kansas income taxes on your earnings? 3) How do you respond to those who say a former lobbyist shouldn’t be elected?
Jim Slattery: 1) I have released a full list of my lobbying clients and the work that I did on behalf of those clients. Many of my clients were Midwest companies that had national and international problems. For example, Midwest Grains in Atchison, my hometown, was my first client. I also did work on behalf of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. I’m very proud of the work I did for those clients because it helped save jobs in the United States. I never took a client whose cause I did not believe in and I did not represent any large oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, or foreign governments. 2) I paid Kansas income taxes on my earnings in Kansas. I have paid income taxes in Kansas every year since I graduated from college. 3) It depends on who I lobbyied for and I never did anything I didn’t think was in the public’s best interest. I am very proud of the clients that I represented and the work that I did on their behalf. Had I lobbyied on behalf of EADS/Airbus, like Pat Roberts son, that would be a legitimate objection.
I thought this was a very good start on answering the “accusation” of being a former lobbyist. My next piece of advice for Jim is to go on the offensive against Roberts about him having basically never left Washington, DC for forty years or so. Jim not only has to define himself but define his opponent.
Hats off to the LJW and Rep. Slattery for an excellent chat on the issues!
LJW: Chat Live with Jim Slattery at Noon Today (Tuesday)
Read more at the LJW at:
Upcoming Chat: U.S. Senate candidate Jim Slattery chats about U.S. Senate Democratic primary
I’ll be at a hearing so I’ll miss it. If you get a question in, tell Jim
that Todd Epp, formerly of Topeka, says hi and good luck!
On a serious note, the LJW does a number of these types of chats, which are a great service to citizens. Please participate and learn about the issues.
Technorati Tags: Jim Slattery, U.S. Senate, 2008 election, Lawrence Journal World





